Surely it was just a matter of time. When it turned out that months of whiny baby complaining and conspiracy claims weren't going to change anything, a lawsuit became the only rational weapon left in Saints' fans arsenals. (Rational being a relative term, but everyone on every side of the bounty scandal seems to have made it a point to act as irrationally as possible, so we takes what we can gets.)

New Orleans resident David Mancina, on behalf of anyone who bought tickets to a Saints game this season, filed suit in US District Court yesterday. Naming both the NFL and the Commissioner as plaintiffs, Mancina is seeking more than $5 million for the league's role in lowering the quality of the Saints gameday experience by suspending players, coaches, and taking away draft picks.

Complainant, and the class, purchased their tickets with the representation, andexpectation, from the Commissioner and the League that the Saints would be capable of competitively fielding a contending team comprised of the finest athletes, and the best coaches,under contract with the New Orleans Saints, or available to them through normal trades anddraft choices, without dictatorial, unreasonable, vindictive, and unfounded, interference fromthe Commissioner and the League, devoid of due process.

The legality of the the Bountygate suspensions is still making its way through court, even as parallel CBA-covered appeals are heard. That doesn't stop Mancina—and really, the 85,000 potential plaintiffs—from outlining just how "devastating" the punishments have been,

[to] the quality of the Saints; the value of the tickets purchased by Plaintiff and the class subsequent to their purchase; and the confidence and emotional attachment of Plaintiff, and the class, to the Saints, due to the unfair, prejudicial, unreasonable,and vindictive, actions of the Commissioner and the League.

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The NFL has three weeks to respond. You can be sure they've got their most junior attorney on it.